Website visitors have certain expectations when they arrive at professional websites. Violating these basic expectations can spell disaster--or at the very least undermine your professionalism.

Always avoid these blunders:

Underlining words that are not links.
Internet users expect all underlined words to be hyperlinks. Never underline anything on your website unless it is a link.

Blinking and scrolling text
In the early days of the internet, blinking and scrolling text were fascinating features. Today, these features are not only distracting and unprofessional, but they may cause your site to violate Section 508 compatibility requirements.

Using “click here”
Just as your grammar teacher expected you to write in complete sentences, your visitors expect your website to be readable. Rather than filling pages with meaningless "click here" links, build links into the content. Consider the following:

Out of date calendars
With so many online calendar options, there is no excuse for out-of-date calendars. Whether your calendar shows yesterday's events or events from three years ago, visitors will instantly wonder how out-of-date the rest of the information on your site is.

Pages under construction
If you haven't built a page, do not publish links to it. Good information goes a long way with website visitors. Good intentions do not. Post pages only when they are ready to be seen by the public.